The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) is a leading international conservation organization focused solely on Africa. Since our founding in 1961, AWF has recognized that Africa’s wildlife resources and ecosystems are critical to the future prosperity of Africa and its people. Some key facts about AWF:

With a geographic focus on the continent of Africa, AWF works with Africans at the local, regional and national levels to conserve the continent’s tremendous natural resources.
We focus on key African species, including elephants, rhinos, lions and other large carnivores, mountain gorillas and Africa’s other great apes.
AWF is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with offices throughout Africa, Europe, and North America.
We have an operational budget of about $25 million. • Of AWF’s staff of 150 (and growing), more than 80 percent are African

AWF’s Approach

For long-lasting impact, conservation in Africa must be done at a large-landscape level, together with local, national and regional partners. Conservation must also take into account the needs of not simply the wildlife living in the area but also the people. To that end:

AWF targets large areas of land that extend beyond single parks, even national boundaries.
We implement a variety of conservation initiatives, all of which are centered around three specific areas: land, wildlife and people (including education and enterprise).
AWF incorporates climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts into many of our projects.
Because conservation does not always take effect without political will, we also work with governmental partners to effect policy change.

Where AWF works

AWF works in a variety of ecosystems across sub-Saharan Africa, including rainforests, mountainous regions, wetlands, savannas, the Sahel and more.

Currently, AWF has projects in more than 18 countries across Africa:

West and Central Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, Senegal
East Africa: Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda
Southern Africa: Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

AWF has identified 20 additional landscapes across the continent that are under threat and that would benefit from our conservation intervention. We aspire to work in these landscapes as resources allow.